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DTCI: Writing for fun also may enhance your practice abilities

I dropped off my 10-year old daughter at Butler University’s creative writing camp this week. As I watched Charlotte walk to her classroom, composition notebook and pen in hand, I thought to myself, when was the last time I wrote anything for fun? Like Charlotte, as a child, I used to fill blank pages with stories. Stories I created. My interest in writing continued and certainly was a factor in choosing the profession of law, but if someone asked me to write a story today, I would not even know where to begin.

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DTCI: Kudos & News

Find out which Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana members are in the news for recent accomplishments.

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DTCI: Video Recordings of Independent Medical Examinations

Approximately five years ago, attorneys began requiring video recordings of their clients’ independent medical examinations. The burden this requirement placed on their opponents was immense since most doctors refused to be recorded. Because Trial Rule 35(A) is silent on the issue of video recordings, an increasing number of battles were being waged in the courtroom.

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DTCI: What does work-life balance mean, and how do you find it?

We all know the variety and levels of stress associated with practicing law. There are constant demands on our time, intense pressures of performing well and obtaining good results for our clients, the assumption that we are all constantly available through technology, and our own self-driven motivators that led us to our chosen profession. But it is important to have the right amount of balance within your career and within your home life. 

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DTCI: Indemnity under the Fair Housing Amendments Act

Although the construction industry has long sought to allocate the risk of liability for Fair Housing Amendments Act claims to the parties best suited to minimize that risk, recent court decisions construing the FHAA call into question the enforceability of such provisions.

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DTCI: Eastern vs. Central Time Zone debate passes with a yawn

Coming from Iowa, where the entire state is in the same time zone and Daylight Saving Time had been around for my entire life, it was odd finding out that Indiana was split between two time zones and had only very recently fully adopted Daylight Saving Time. While I thought time was a permanent fixture, longtime Indiana residents feel it is an inconvenience that can be changed.

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DTCI: Is the Plaintiff a User or Consumer Under IPLA?

A preliminary inquiry in defending any case brought pursuant to the Indiana Products Liability Act (IPLA) is whether the IPLA even applies to the plaintiff; that is, whether the plaintiff is considered a “user” or “consumer” under the IPLA.

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Summary judgment for Steak ‘n Shake in patron’s shooting reversed

In a case watched closely by both the plaintiffs and defense bar, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for Steak ‘n Shake after determining the chain owed a duty to a customer at an Indianapolis restaurant who was shot in the face during an escalating conflict with another patron.

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DTCI: Protecting Employers by Protecting Employees From Sexual Harassment

Today, employers must ensure that sexual harassment in the workplace is eliminated. This article focuses on some cases that have formed today’s law governing sexual harassment claims and closes with some suggestions of how employers can protect their employees and themselves from these increasingly common claims.

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DTCI: My doctor is liable for how much?

As attorneys who practice frequently in the area of medical negligence, it is not uncommon to be presented with a case in which the plaintiff seeks damages under both the Medical Malpractice Act (MMA) and the Wrongful Death Act. This article describes how these statutes work together, how to apply the caps, and discusses when a provider can be responsible for paying more than the MMA cap.

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